Box Score

Wheaton, Ill. - The Wheaton College women's basketball team played rock-solid defense and earned its first conference win of the season with a 67-62 victory over North Central College on Saturday.

The Thunder improved to 7-5 overall and 1-1 in the CCIW. The Cardinals fell to 3-10 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

Wheaton's offense got off to a slow start, scoring only eight points in the first nine minutes. But the Thunder recovered and went on a 9-0 run to grab the lead and headed into the halftime up 32-27.

A pair of Lindsey Brenneman free throws gave Wheaton its largest lead of the game 62-52 with about four minutes left in the game. But North Central attacked with purpose, drawing fouls and hitting open shots to whittle the deficit all the way to 64-62 with 1:09 remaining.

The final minute saw the Thunder turn on its aggressive defense as the Cardinals missed their final five shots of the game. A driving layup in traffic by Sarah Jones and a Brenneman free throw provided the cushion to clinch the victory.

Wheaton's Kelly Brooks led the team with 14 points in only 18 minutes off the bench. Breanna Bohlen and Brooke Olson added 10 points each and Annie Bown tallied eight points and 10 rebounds. The Thunder shot 23 of 55 from the field (42 percent), 6 of 18 from three-point range (33 percent) and 15 of 26 from the free throw line (58 percent).

North Central was held to 28 percent shooting from the field (19 of 67) and 20 percent from three-point range (3 of 15). Jackie Errico led the Cardinals with 21 points while Becky Bylina added 11 points and 13 rebounds.

The Thunder return to action with a 7:30 PM game on Tuesday hosting Augustana College.